Persons of limited mobility, such as paraplegics, quadriplegics, and those suffering from diseases or conditions such as muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, ALS, and cerebral palsy, typically encounter difficulties when faced with a situation where they must be transferred from one location to another, such as from a wheelchair seat to an airfronte seat, a car seat, or a recreational seat (e.g., a kayak or sit ski seat). Additionally, in emergency evacuation situations, it can be difficult to evacuate wheelchair-bound or injured persons from any multi-story building, particularly from skyscrapers or other buildings requiring evacuation down multiple flights of stairs or if in the interests of security, a person needed to be rapidly immobilized and evacuated from an unsecured location to a remote location.
Transfer devices for extracting and transporting such persons from one location to another and emergency evacuation devices currently exist. These transfer devices are typically mechanical lifts and/or slings that require trained operators and heavy mechanical equipment to use. Similarly, such emergency evacuation devices are typically heavy, rigid devices that are difficult to use in emergency situations, particularly by untrained personnel. They are rarely available when needed due to their size and the difficulty in storing such devices. These transfer and emergency evacuation devices also fail to adequately secure the person being transported in the device. Thus, there is a need in the art for a person transfer, immobilizer, and carrier device that is lightweight can be used by unskilled operators or by people who work in public safety such as: police; fireman; tactical; homeland security; EMS units; Military personnel; Private Security Contractors or anyone with the need to easily and quickly lift, move, immobilize, and transport a person whom has fallen, conscious on unconscious, wounded in the line of fire, for a quick evacuation to get someone to safety.
There is a further need in the art for a person lifter and carrier that maintains the person being transported in a stable and immobilized position during use.
While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.